Michelle Kwan marries Clay Pell in Rhode Island
Figure-skating champion Michelle Kwan and Clay Pell have married in Rhode Island.
Michelle Kwan – a two-time Olympic medalist – and Clay Pell exchanged vows at the First Unitarian Church in Providence on Saturday.
About 250 guests attended the ceremony, including Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and his wife, Stephani, as well as Olympic champions Brian Boitano, Dick Button and Dorothy Hamill, according to People Magazine.
“You could feel the love Michelle and Clay have for each other,” a guest told the magazine’s website.
“They are truly a perfect match.”
Clay Pell, a 31-year-old JAG lawyer and Coast Guard lieutenant, works on the White House’s national security staff.
He is the grandson of the late Rhode Island Sen. Claiborne Pell, who reportedly established Pell Grants to assist college students with in paying their tuition 40 years ago.
Michelle Kwan and Clay Pell have married in Rhode Island
Michelle Kwan is a public policy envoy with the U.S. State Department and the most decorated figure skater in American history.
She won 43 championships, including five World titles, nine national crowns, as well as the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and bronze at the 2002 Games.
Fans of Michelle Kwan’s performance at the 2002 Winter games might have recognized a certain nostalgic touch from Saturday.
During those Salt Lake City games, Michelle Kwan skated her routine to Sting’s song, Fields of Gold.
She once again utilized the tune for her wedding, incorporating it, according to People, into the day’s proceedings.
Uniformed police officers stood guard outside the church as the 32-year-old Michelle Kwan and her bridesmaid emerged from a club across the street from the church, The Providence Journal reports.
She engaged to marry Clay Pell September 3, and shortly thereafter told People, “I never was one who believed in love at first sight, but I have to admit it happened for us.
“I felt there was a magnetic connection between us,” Michelle Kwan explained of their April 2011 initial meeting.
“I thought he was the one from the beginning.”
“It was a simple decision and it made sense, that’s what’s so exciting to me,” she elaborated in an interview with People.
“We are working together as a team, like in [pair skating].”
Back in September, Clay Pell proposed on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island.
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